Without the forced "humor" and love triangles the series would be pretty solid. Although I like the IT kid, him busting his hand was also terribly forced, like the rest of the show there's no subtlety, the writers do everything they can but have a character screaming directly at their audience that "These are newsmen, like the kid in Egypt who almost got killed, Jeff Daniels' guys put it all on the line!"

What's annoying about it is just how utterly unnecessary it is. The one guy going out onto the street and getting his ass kicked, made sense, is a juicy story line, and was already enough to draw the parallel to give the audience a character that will personify their concern for the Egyptian kid. They didn't need anyone else hurting themselves for any reason other than that crappy speech. A speech where Sorkin's again going after low hanging fruit by crapping on Tabloids, because no one has ever had the gall to acknowledge what worthless crap tabloids are.

The lack of subtlety just absolutely undermines the whole point of the show IMO. Sorkin is treating his audience as though they're just as incapable of thinking for themselves as the cable news networks he's trying to rail against. It's a reasonable cause, cable news dumbs things down instead of showing people the facts and letting them process the information for themselves, but you don't make that point by dumbing things down and constantly reminding your audience of the conclusions they're supposed to be coming to. The show kind gets a Fox News-y feel to it, even if the conclusions he's trying to drill into your head are different ones.

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BK

Quote:

Originally Posted by AcheTen

JPP is a better and more productive player than Brandon Graham

Quote:

Originally Posted by abaddon41_80

Is Shaun Hill a top 10 QB? Definitely not. Is he a top 20 one? Almost certainly.

Finally got around to watching the first episode of Falling Skies for the season and I gotta admit, it entertains the hell out of me. It's kind of campy and the machines/aliens look cheesy, but I am entertained by it.

Even though it's absolutely steeped in pretentiousness, I really enjoyed the first 4 episodes of The Newsroom. Watched them yesterday on a lazy Sunday, and they are entertaining, high production value TV if nothing else. It's worth tuning in for an hour just to watch Jeff Daniels.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Goosemahn

The APS is strong in this one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by killxswitch

Tears for Fears is better than whatever it is you happen to be thinking about right now.

Finally got around to watching the first episode of Falling Skies for the season and I gotta admit, it entertains the hell out of me. It's kind of campy and the machines/aliens look cheesy, but I am entertained by it.

The last two episodes have been pretty good. It's still not great by any means but good enough to keep me watching.

I was thinking she'd probably be back because Tanner did something but she was the idiot for destroying the evidence. I have a feeling they'll keep her in the loop somehow though.

I watched the latest Suits this weekend.

Man this sucks. But I like that this isn't at all contrived. Some of the other USA shows right now are frustrating me with the forced difficulties for the main character(s) but I like what they're doing with Suits. Some overall thoughts:

- Louis might be my favorite character this season. He is a complete snake but he is showing vulnerability and even likability this year. And not just because of his dead cat. I was actually kind of disappointed his partnership with Mike was so short-lived.

He is also just really good at his job much of the time. Harvey vs Louis was at its best when they were equals. Having Harvey offhandedly step on him all the time kind of sucks. I think his dissatisfaction with being a junior partner is foreshadowing. He is going to play a big part in getting the firm out of this big mess and he will be promoted to Senior for it.

- I like that this season is not strictly focused on Mike and Harvey. I like Mike and Harvey just fine, they are great central characters and their relationship is very complex. But Harvey, Louis, Donna, Jessica, Daniel, and even Rachel are all interesting and worthy of being more than perimeter players. I think the increased focus on these other characters is part of what makes this season even better so far than the first one.

- I like seeing the untouchable ivory tower types like Jessica and to a lesser extent Harvey being vulnerable. They are ass kickers but the people gunning for them are also very smart and talented. Contrast that with White Collar where up until recently they outsmarted almost everyone with relative ease.

I really hope Donna returns. She knows about Mike, for one. She can't stay gone forever. And she would not have made a mistake like this. That other lawyer had the doc planted somehow. She is too good to just let go, both as an employee and as a character on the show.

There are so many directions they can go with this show, it should stick around for a long time because the procedural side is very interesting and the long-term story has so many options.

Man this sucks. But I like that this isn't at all contrived. Some of the other USA shows right now are frustrating me with the forced difficulties for the main character(s) but I like what they're doing with Suits. Some overall thoughts:

- Louis might be my favorite character this season. He is a complete snake but he is showing vulnerability and even likability this year. And not just because of his dead cat. I was actually kind of disappointed his partnership with Mike was so short-lived.

He is also just really good at his job much of the time. Harvey vs Louis was at its best when they were equals. Having Harvey offhandedly step on him all the time kind of sucks. I think his dissatisfaction with being a junior partner is foreshadowing. He is going to play a big part in getting the firm out of this big mess and he will be promoted to Senior for it.

- I like that this season is not strictly focused on Mike and Harvey. I like Mike and Harvey just fine, they are great central characters and their relationship is very complex. But Harvey, Louis, Donna, Jessica, Daniel, and even Rachel are all interesting and worthy of being more than perimeter players. I think the increased focus on these other characters is part of what makes this season even better so far than the first one.

- I like seeing the untouchable ivory tower types like Jessica and to a lesser extent Harvey being vulnerable. They are ass kickers but the people gunning for them are also very smart and talented. Contrast that with White Collar where up until recently they outsmarted almost everyone with relative ease.

I really hope Donna returns. She knows about Mike, for one. She can't stay gone forever. And she would not have made a mistake like this. That other lawyer had the doc planted somehow. She is too good to just let go, both as an employee and as a character on the show.

There are so many directions they can go with this show, it should stick around for a long time because the procedural side is very interesting and the long-term story has so many options.

I think Suits is probably my favorite USA show.

I agree with every point that you made.

I don't think this show will get rid of Donna like that. She means too much to Harvey for that to be the end of it. There will be a way for her to come back.

Very good points and agree with all of them except for Suits being my favorite USA show. Psych will always be #1 for me. Louis has been kick ass this year as they've really developed his character over the early course of the season. From working with the Harvard woman, working with Mike, and now the cat thing. It's been one of the bigger reasons as to why season 2 has really took off.

I think I still enjoy White Collar more then Suits. The cast of Suits is better as a whole, but Neal Caffrey is a more engaging character then anyone Suits has to offer. Caffrey is one of my favorite characters on TV, period. Plus, I desperately want to be married to that version of Tiffani Thiessen.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Goosemahn

The APS is strong in this one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by killxswitch

Tears for Fears is better than whatever it is you happen to be thinking about right now.

I think I still enjoy White Collar more then Suits. The cast of Suits is better as a whole, but Neal Caffrey is a more engaging character then anyone Suits has to offer. Caffrey is one of my favorite characters on TV, period. Plus, I desperately want to be married to that version of Tiffani Thiessen.

I approve of this message but....

Quote:

Originally Posted by vidae

Louis has always been a great character, he just wasn't all that likeable until now. But yeah, I've enjoyed his character a lot this season.

I do agree with every point you made EXCEPT Suits being my favorite show. Like GF said, Psych will always be my #1. Suits is right behind it though.

I approve even more of the bolded. Psych is definitely my favorite TV show. White Collar and Suits aren't far behind though.

Psych is absolutely #1 for me as well, I was just chiming in on the Suits vs everything except Psych situation.

Anyone else notice that all three of those Psych shows feature a character with perfect recall? Shawn, Mozzie and Mike are all depicted as having photographic memories. Someone over at USA has an affinity for those types of characters haha

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Goosemahn

The APS is strong in this one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by killxswitch

Tears for Fears is better than whatever it is you happen to be thinking about right now.

I like Psych a lot too. But I think of that as more of a comedy show with some drama whereas all the others are are drama with some comedy. I wasn't even really thinking about Psych when I said that. I was thinking about Burn Notice, White Collar, Royal Pains, and even back to the Monk days. But I think for me it's still true, I just like Suits the best.

I found an interview with Sarah Rafferty (plays Donna) and the way she talked, the destroyed document is just a bump in the road and she will be back. It's a big bump, definitely a big deal, and so maybe she won't be back in the exact same capacity or something. But I am 100% sure she'll be back. Apparently she and Gabriel Macht (Harvey) are friends of 20+ years and he suggested her for the part.